Oats in the Bucket

I’m writing this near midnight from my room at Cedar Springs Lodge in Sumas, Washington. It is a serene place, a hidden jewel that is truly hidden. Sumas (pronounced Soo-Mass, I learned) is a little town across the border from Abbotsford, British Columbia. I never got to visit Sumas because we drove in from Bellingham on Monday and went straight to the conference center, which is located 300 acres of old-growth cedar and fir trees. John Bargen, the 85-year-old founder, took me on a ATV to see some of the larger trees. We got out and measured one cedar tree that was 18 feet in circumference. John said it was probably 200 years old. It was easiest the largest and tallest cedar tree I’ve ever seen.

The whole place is idyllic. John and his wife Jeannie have invested time and energy to create elaborate gardens with spring-fed ponds surrounded by bright flowers. Four stately swans hold court in the main pond. Cedar Springs strikes me as a kind of arboretum for the soul. It is not only the heavens that declare the glory of God. Today I saw fish in the pond and then a little mink jumped in the water and they also declared the glory of God.

I came a long way to speak to 120 pastors and wives, most of them from British Columbia. They were a diverse group–Anglicans, Advent Christians, Pentecostals, Salvation Army, Mennonite, and a few others also. And we had leaders from various ethnic congregations, especially from various Chinese congregations in and around Vancouver. That’s one thing I enjoy about speaking in Canada. You generally find more diversity than in similar groups in the States.

Most of the pastors came from smaller churches. I heard several talk about having churches of 40 or 50 people. Church growth in western Canada and in Oregon and Washington tends to be difficult. One pastor explained that most people are spiritually indifferent. Going to church doesn’t figure into their lifestyle. 

When I announced this morning that I was going to speak on “How to Survive Your Critics,” there were knowing chuckles from the audience. Every pastor knows the pain of congregational criticism. Sometimes it can be brutal. So we “talked shop” today about how to respond in a godly fashion to those who disagree with your leadership.

It took me all day on Monday to get here because it’s a long way from Tupelo to Sumas and there is no easy way to make the journey. Tomorrow I will hopscotch across the country for about 16 hours, driving to Bellingham and then flying to Seattle, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and finally to Tupelo.

But it was worth it for the privilege of being with these fine servants of the Lord. During the testimony time this evening, one man said that although he had never been seminary or Bible college, he had been a long-haul trucker, a logger, a bartender, and a bouncer. He said being a bouncer was the best preparation for being a pastor. I’m not sure what that meant but I decided that if I got in trouble, I’d want him on my side. 

Another man told a story about a church member named Cy whose horses got loose on Sunday morning. Cy’s favorite horse, Old Joe, was 28 years old and deaf. The other two horses were young and hadn’t been trained yet. When Cy arrived, he got out a bucket with some oats in it and started rattling it around. Old Joe perked up and came over to Cy who then led Old Joe back to the barn with the two young horses following behind him. “Old Joe may be deaf,” Cy said, “but he can hear the sound of oats in a bucket.” He knows how to find the food.

Even though I’m tired and facing a long trip home, coming to Cedar Springs was like oats in a bucket to me. I think all the pastors and wives feel the same way. In this beautiful spot, tucked away on a hillside in northern Washington, amid the towering cedars, we all found good food for the soul.